South Sudan government to continue peace talks with rebels

South Sudan's government says it will continue negotiations with rebels aimed at ending a 20-month civil war in the African country, but without the presence of President Salva Kiir.

"We are still engaging in the peace efforts; that has not stopped," Kiir’s spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny told AFP on Saturday, a day after South Sudan's minister of cabinet affairs, Martin Elia Lomoro, reportedly said ongoing talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa would be suspended.

Ateny, however, said, "It has been decided the president should not be the one traveling."

On Friday, the Sudan Tribune daily quoted Lomoro as saying that Kiir is insisting on knowing his negotiating partner before continuing the talks in Addis Ababa.

Confusion arose on Tuesday, when senior rebel generals said that they had split from their leader, Riek Machar, a former deputy of Kiir, and that they would not recognize any possible agreement at the talks.

They also charged Machar with "mismanaging and failing to unite the rebel movement."

The government and rebels have held several rounds of peace talks without any tangible results. Last month, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the East African bloc mediating the talks, handed the two sides what it called a compromise deal on power-sharing and other controversial issues.

IGAD also proposed a three-year interim period as a solution to the crisis while setting August 17 as the deadline to end the prolonged talks.

Both negotiating teams are under intense international pressure to settle the issue before the Monday deadline or face possible sanctions, including arms embargoes, asset freezes and travel bans.

Meanwhile, South Sudan's Information Minister Michael Makuei said in Addis Ababa that the government would “continue with the talks. If we don't sign it (the deal), we'll continue to talk until we agree."

"Some of the provisions of the compromise agreement drafted by IGAD have never been discussed by the parties before," Makuei added.

The current round of negotiations began on August 6, mediated by the IGAD, as well as the United Nations, the African Union, China, and the "troika" of Britain, Norway, and the United States.

South Sudan plunged into chaos in December 2013, when fighting erupted between troops loyal to Kiir and defectors led by Machar around the capital Juba. The clashes left tens of thousands of people dead and forced almost two million people from their homes.

South Sudan gained independence in July 2011 after its people voted in a referendum for a split from Sudan. 

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